Taxwatch Pegs Bay and Gulf County Projects as Turkeys

They included $12 million for an Alzheimer’s Center and a $9 million last minute appropriation for a biotech park at the University of South Florida.

Taxwatch says the $200 million should be used to build new schools, hire an extra 1,200 teachers, or provide health insurance for $40,000 low-income kids.

Taxwatch listed a number of projects in Gulf and Bay Counties on the turkey list. They include $5.5 million for the "Gulf Coast to Bay Highway" connecting the two counties, also $4.5 million for the Gulf Coast Parkway in Gulf County.

The Gulf County Health Department has two turkeys, $1.5 million for a Wewahitchka branch and $600,000 in contracted services.

There's another $700,000 for the Florida Assertive Community Team, which serves both Bay and Gulf Counties, and in Bay County, Taxwatch tagged a half million dollars for our synchronized traffic light system.

In almost every case, the money was added to the state budget by legislative conference committees and had not recommended by the governor.

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